This invention relates to a towed watercraft and more particularly to an improved type of watercraft that may be towed by a small jet propelled watercraft.
Recently there has been an interest in a type of watercraft called a "Personal Watercraft." This type of watercraft is relatively small and is designed to be operated primarily by a single rider, although in some instances accommodations are made for carrying one or more passengers. The rider normally operates the water vehicle seated in a straddle fashion and any passengers which are accommodated normally sit in tandem fashion behind the rider. This type of watercraft is generally powered by a jet propulsion unit which may be mounted in a tunnel position beneath the rider's seat. Although this type of watercraft has a number of advantages and desirable points, it should be readily apparent that the number of passengers or load carrying capacity of this type of watercraft is relatively limited.
One way in which more passengers can be accommodated is if the small watercraft tows an additional, normally unpowered watercraft. The towed watercraft can provide additional seating accommodation. Although this has an advantage, there are some disadvantages with towed watercraft.
For example, since it is desirable to accommodate additional passengers, the towed watercraft generally will have a width that is substantially greater than that of the towing watercraft or, alternatively, it will nevertheless present a hull area that is disposed to the rear of the discharge nozzle of the jet propulsion unit. This means that the towed watercraft hull interferes with the discharge of water from the powering watercraft's jet propulsion unit and a reduction in the propulsion efficiency occurs.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved hull configuration for a towed watercraft.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a hull configuration for a towed watercraft which will accommodate substantial weight and which will nevertheless avoid interference with the discharge from the jet propulsion unit of the towing watercraft.
Another disadvantage in the use of towed watercrafts is that the towed watercraft can interfere with the visibility of the operator of the towing watercraft. That is, the towed watercraft can significantly impair the rearward vision of the rider of the towing watercraft, an obvious disadvantage.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an arrangement for a towed watercraft wherein the towed watercraft will not interfere with the vision from the towing watercraft.
When one watercraft tows another one, some device must be provided between the towing watercraft and the towed watercraft so as to permit the towed watercraft to be towed. If a rope or flexible device is utilized for this purpose, there are a number of disadvantages. First, the range of movement of the towed watercraft can be difficult to control and this can provide a number of disadvantages. For example, the towed watercraft may stray from one side to the other from the towing watercraft. Also, when the towing watercraft is decelerated, the towed watercraft can strike the towing watercraft.
It is, therefore, a further object of this invention to provide an improved towing arrangement for towing a towed watercraft from a towing watercraft.
In accordance with the object stated above, many of the disadvantages of the prior art types of constructions employing tow ropes can be avoided through the use of a rigid traction means between the watercrafts. However, such arrangements have a number of other disadvantages. For example, it is desirable to ensure that the downward load exerted on the towing watercraft by a rigid traction bar will not be excessive.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved arrangement for controlling the amount of downward force asserted on a towing watercraft from a rigid traction device for towing a towed watercraft.
The use of a rigid traction bar, although avoiding some of the problems of control of the position of the towed watercraft relative to the towing watercraft itself, however, has some disadvantages. For example, it is desirable to permit some movement of the towed watercraft relative to the towing watercraft and this can be done by employing some form of pivotal joint in the traction bar. However, there still arises the problem of control of the position of the towed watercraft relative to the towing watercraft, particularly upon deceleration.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved control arrangement for the towed watercraft of a towing/towed watercraft combination including rigid traction devices.
As has been noted, the use of towed watercrafts has the advantage of providing additional passenger capability without requiring an additional propulsion unit for the added watercraft. However, if the towed watercraft has no provision for self propulsion, this can give rise to certain problems.
It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to provide an improved arrangement whereby a towed watercraft may be provided with an optional, emergency power supply.